Rowling Has Three Potter 7 Titles

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said on her official Web site on Halloween that she has come up with at least three titles for her upcoming seventh and last Potter book. "I've now got a third title," Rowling wrote. "I've been thinking that I've had more titles than this for a couple of the previous books, so I'm not too worried by this. Title three [is] currently ahead by a short nose, or perhaps that should be a vowel and two consonants," she added, without revealing the various contenders.

As for the status of the book, Rowling said: "I've just had a great writing week. There are few feelings more joyous than reading back over the week's work and thinking, 'That's not bad at all,' as opposed to the all-too-frequent 'It's rubbish. I've wasted a week, and I'll have to rewrite the lot.' And if you think that's an exaggeration or false modesty, you are very, very wrong. It's perfectly possible to put in eight-hour days and have nothing to show for them but a single idea that, if reworked completely, might be passable." No date has been set for the release of the seventh book, which is expected sometime next year.Singer Signs for Super Sequel

Bryan Singer has signed a deal with Warner Brothers to direct and produce a sequel to Superman Returns, with Legendary Pictures expected to co-finance, Variety reported.

The sequel is tentatively intended for release in summer 2009, although the studio stressed that there's not even a script or budget yet.

The sequel is apparently at the very beginning of the development process, and, as with any other project, there are any number of factors that must be addressed before it is given a green light, the trade paper reported.

Superman Returns grossed more than $390 million worldwide, though it wasn't the performer the studio had hoped for.

In terms of casting, Warners has an option on Superman Returns star Brandon Routh.

Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris penned the script for Superman Returns based on a story they created with Singer. It's not clear whether Dougherty and Harris will return for the sequel.Halo Movie Suspended

Days after Microsoft vowed to continue development of a movie based on its Halo video-game franchise, executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's Wingnut Films have announced that they are postponing the movie, with Microsoft's approval, according to a report on ComingSoon.net.

The news comes a little more than a week after Universal and Fox pulled out of their agreement to co-finance the movie, reportedly over concerns about the film's budget and finance arrangements.

Now, Wingnut Films said in a statement: "As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video-game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first-class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of director Neill Blomkamp's vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait."

Shortly after Universal and Fox pulled out, Microsoft vowed to move forward with the Halo film and said that prep on the movie was going ahead.

Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.Miller: Max 4 Still Possible

Director George Miller told InFocus magazine that the long-gestating fourth Mad Max film is still a possibility. "Mad Max 4 is so prepared, there seems to be a lot of momentum for it to get done," Miller told the magazine. "Right now, I've got another, smaller film to do, and then we'll gear up and do Mad Max again. In what form and so on, I don't know. But it hasn't gotten stale in the meantime, and I'm very, very keen to do it. It seems like there's the appetite out there."

The fourth movie was ready to shoot in Namibia at one time. "We were in Namibia, Africa, and we were about to start shooting—and that's when the war started. And at that point, the American dollar, against the currencies we were working with—the Australian dollar and the South African rand—crashed 20 percent, and we lost a lot of our budget. And, besides, we couldn't get insurance, and we couldn't get our vehicles transported on the container ships."

This time around, it seems unlikely that the original Mad Max, Mel Gibson, will take part; he's already expressed no desire to reprise the character.Shatner Confirms Trek Talk

Original Star Trek star William Shatner revealed to TV Guide that he had "a long talk" with Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams about his upcoming proposed 11th Star Trek movie, confirming earlier reports on TrekMovie.com and elsewhere. Shatner joked when asked who he thought should assume the mantle of Capt. James T. Kirk in the film, which is rumored to deal with Kirk and Spock's first meeting.

"I think it's essentially uncastable," Shatner answered with a wink. He also dismissed a suggestion that he have a cameo in the movie, which was also the subject of rumors.

Asked about his currently airing Trek-themed DirecTV commercial, Shatner admitted that visual effects shaved years off of him. "They've got me CGI'd," he said. "They've got a computer program trying vainly to make me look younger."Abrams: Trek XI Shapes Up

J.J. Abrams, who is writing and will direct a proposed 11th Star Trek movie, told TVGuide.com that the story is shaping up, but declined to reveal any details. "The framework is firmly in place, the script is being written now, and we are incredibly enthusiastic about it," Abrams told the site.

Abrams also declined to address casting rumors. "It's way too early to talk about casting," he said. "But the story is incredibly cool. All of us working on it are just giddy about it."Matrix Team Preps Speed Racer

Producer Joel Silver has enlisted his Matrix creators, Larry and Andy Wachowski, to write and direct a big-screen, live-action version of the animated TV series Speed Racer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie will be the duo's first directorial outing since completing the Silver-produced Matrix series in 2003. They are reuniting with several of the creative behind-the-scenes talents from the Matrix films, including executive producer Grant Hill and visual-effects supervisor John Gaeta, who won an Oscar for his work on The Matrix.

Based on the classic 1960s series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, which was retooled for North American audiences, the big-screen Speed will follow the adventures of the young race-car driver Speed in his quest for glory in his thundering gadget-laden vehicle, Mach 5. The movie will feature other characters from the show, including Speed's family and his mysterious archrival, Racer X.

Silver has been trying to get the film version off the ground since the early 1990s; in 2004, Vince Vaughn even pitched a take that cast him as Racer X. When Silver worked on V for Vendetta with the Wachowskis, he approached them about tackling the project. The duo were reluctant to do it unless they could figure out a way to bring something new to the table.

The plan is for the Wachowskis to shoot in summer 2007, for a summer 2008 release. Speed Racer will be a Warner Brothers Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures production.Ventimiglia Talks Heroes Role

Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Peter Petrelli in NBC's hit SF drama Heroes, told SCI FI Wire that viewers have only begun to see the extent of his character's ability to take on the powers of other superheroes. "There's a physical pressure that Peter feels if he were in the room with two superheroes," Ventimiglia said in a conference call with journalists on Oct. 31. "The physical, the mental overwhelming that it could possibly get him into, we do get into that. We do explore it. And also, is he ever going to retain [it], or is it just when he's nearby somebody?"

Ventimiglia agreed that his character has the potential to become one of the most powerful characters on the show, but won't be any more important than the other heroes on the show. "We all play our parts," he said. "And per the pilot, I think the storyline that was easiest served was the Petrelli brothers. But all these other characters unfold in interesting ways, and that's also what is part and parcel and integral to the show."

The series will also continue to explore the love triange between Ventimiglia's character, art dealer Simone Deveaux (played by Tawny Cypress) and prophetic painter Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera). "It's just one of those complicated triangles that add drama to any situation, any show," Ventimiglia said. "I think Simone's part in the show, with regards to Peter, it brings him back to that earnest point of, well, why is he doing this? She's actually the one that in future episodes kind of helps him along, and is understanding and taking charge of this situation, this opportunity, he's been placed in. And we'll definitely get into that more." Heroes airs on NBC Mondays at 9 p.m. PT/ET. NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM. —Cindy WhiteHeroes' Pasdar Eyes Future

Adrian Pasdar, who plays aspiring congressman Nathan Petrelli in NBC's hit SF drama Heroes, told SCI FI Wire that the audience will finally meet his character's wife, played by Rena Sofer, in the upcoming seventh episode. "The relationship there was predicated, I think, on a common understanding of what it would take to be a politician's wife and all of the things that go along with that," Pasdar said in a conference call with journalists on Oct. 31. "And love, of course, factored in, I think, heavily in the beginning as well."

Pasdar, whose character has the ability to fly, also hinted (warning, spoilers ahead!) that a tragic accident will cause some strife between the couple, but will also provide some clues to the show's ongoing mystery. "There's a sense of guilt that's permeated Nathan's existence since this accident, which we get into in episode ... nine or 10," he said. "Which is an accident which Nathan feels guilty for. And it also is an accident that shows something that we can't really talk about it too much. We get information from this accident on a few fronts, not just the one that explains why she's in a wheelchair."

Heroes has proven to be one of the highest-rated new shows this fall, and has already received a full-season commitment from NBC. If the show continues to be successful, Pasdar said he has a clear idea of where he'd like to take the character in the future. "Ultimately, when you're in the game of politics, and you're a fellow like Nathan Petrelli, I mean, there's only one seat, ultimately, that you're looking for, and that's behind a desk in a little place called the Oval Office," he said. "So as we take our journey, and hopefully we have the chance to be on the air for a number of years, I think we may find ourselves in the White House, and where that dynamic with that family fits in to the family that he has now ought to be very interesting." Heroes airs on NBC Mondays at 9 p.m. PT/ET. NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM. —Cindy WhiteHeroes Auction Benefits Kids

The cast of NBC's hit SF series Heroes will host an online charity auction starting Nov. 6 to benefit co-star Greg Grunberg's Pediatric Epilepsy Project, a charity that supports the Division of Pediatric Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Grunberg, who plays mind-reading cop Matt Parker on the superhero series, has a son, Jake, who suffers from the neurological condition.

The auction, which runs through Nov. 27, will feature autographed character illustrations by each cast member, as well as a limited-edition Heroes promotional item autographed by comic-book artist Tim Sale, who also does the paintings and illustrations for the show. Bids will start at $20.

Cast members contributing items include Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, Noah Gray-Cabey, Grunberg, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Leonard Roberts and Milo Ventimiglia.

The Pediatric Epilepsy Project at UCLA was formed to raise funds, provide financial support and increase community awareness to help sustain the Division of Pediatric Neurology at UCLA. Heroes airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.Déjà's Washington Got Schooled

Denzel Washington, who stars in the upcoming time-travel thriller film Déjà Vu, told SCI FI Wire that string-theory expert Brian Greene helped him understand the space-time-continuum issues in the mindbending movie. Washington had to buy the film's premise, centering on theoretical time technology and parallel universes, before he'd sign on. Greene—a Columbia University physicist and author of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory—worked closely with Washington and the cast, which included Val Kilmer, Adam Goldberg and Bruce Greenwood, who all play scientists.

"[Director] Tony [Scott] and [producer] Jerry [Bruckheimer] had to somewhat convince me that this could work, and the original screenplay, I was like, 'Hmm, I don't know, fellas,'" Washington said in an interview. "Tony was saying, 'Look, we want to steep this in facts about surveillance, what it's capable of, and pushing that envelope, and a lot of what we're doing and what you see, they are capable of.' I don't know about the 'multi-angles' and all of that, but we do have the technology, as you all know, if you Google Earth, you can look at somebody's house. We do have the technology where you can look through somebody's house. They use it in Baghdad as we speak, or in Iraq. Where you see a heat signature."

Washington added that he needed the background to understand his role as an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent who is sent into the recent past to prevent a terrorist attack. He said he's intrigued by the ever-advancing technology. "Where it's going now, or has already gone, ... is that by gathering your genetic information, DNA and all of that type of information, they can then identify you, as opposed to me," he said. "So [they] can look at your house from 18 miles above, see your signature, know what your makeup is, know that that's you in the bathroom doing whatever, you know what I mean? ... So it does raise the question, 'How far are we willing to go? Or is it already too late?' Who knows?" Déjà Vu opens Nov. 24. —Mike SzymanskiWashington Has Déjà Vu Again

Denzel Washington, star of the upcoming time-travel film Déjà Vu, told SCI FI Wire that he experienced the sensation that something has happened before on the very day he spoke with the press about his new film. "You know what, I had one today," Washington said in an interview in Century City, Calif., on Oct. 29. "I'm going to get the mail out of the mailbox, and I'm walking around, and I'm out in the street and by my front gate, and ... I got a feeling somebody's going to drive by. So I just stood out there. And a white truck comes by, and it stops, and it backs up, and it's Eddie Murphy."

In the SF action movie, Washington plays an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent who actually travels four days into the past to stop a terrorist bent on blowing up a ferry in the New Orleans harbor. The movie, directed by Tony Scott (The Hunger), also stars Jim Caviezel, Val Kilmer, Adam Goldberg and Paula Patton.

Washington said that he's experienced intense feelings of déjà vu before. There was a time in Brooklyn: He knew he had never been there before, but it felt very familiar. "I used to dream about a particular place in Brooklyn, and then one day I went there, and I couldn't help but feel like I had been there before," Washington said. "It's one of those big mysteries in life that I think everyone wants to get to the bottom of."

As for Murphy? "I just had a feeling somebody was getting close: 'Ah, just give me another second,'" Washington said. "And it wasn't 10 seconds, and he drove by and gave me the whole scoop on Dreamgirls," the upcoming musical in which Murphy stars. Déjà Vu opens Nov. 24. —Mike SzymanskiCaviezel Talks Outlander

Jim Caviezel, who stars in the upcoming SF action-adventure movie Outlander, dropped his usual reserve and told SCI FI Wire that he's excited to be part of the epic tale. "It's going to be big," Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) said in an interview. "Outlander is going to be big."

Caviezel is now in Canada shooting the film, which is directed by Howard McCain and tells the story of a being from another galaxy who crash-lands on Earth during the time of the Vikings. "It's kind of like Braveheart and Highlander combined," Caviezel said. "Somewhat, and really not, and much bigger."

Outlander, which was written by McCain and Dirk Blackman, follows the story of a human-like alien on Earth in 509 A.D. and the monstrous alien creature called a Moorwen that has followed him, threatening to destroy all human life. Caviezel said that he has not yet seen the creature, which will be created by designer Patrick Tatopoulos (I, Robot), but added that it will scary. (Outlander is not related to the Diana Gabaldon book series of the same name.)

The Weinsten Co. started shooting Outlander in the Halifax area earlier this month. It co-stars Cliff Saunders, Patrick Stevenson and Ted Ludzik. Caviezel can next be seen in Déjà Vu, an SF action thriller that stars Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer and is directed by Tony Scott; it opens Nov. 24. —Mike SzymanskiLost Room's Cho Checks In

Margaret Cho, who co-stars in the upcoming SCI FI Channel original miniseries The Lost Room, told SCI FI Wire that she's really not much of an SF fan, with one major exception. "I'm actually, secretly, a total sci-fi Star Wars geek," the comedian-turned-actor confessed in an interview. "I'm not really into Star Trek or anything other than Star Wars. But I'm so into Star Wars. I'm one of those weird Star Wars geeks. I'm into the Wookiees. I know everything about Chewbacca."

Nevertheless, Cho eagerly signed on to The Lost Room, in which Peter Krause plays Joe Miller, a detective who gains possession of a key that opens the door to a world of unimaginable power. The key turns out to be the most powerful of more than 100 mysterious objects that came from Room 10 at the Sunshine Motel, and they're objects that people will kill to protect or destroy. Miller will need that key desperately as he searches for his young daughter, Anna (Elle Fanning), who's disappeared in the Lost Room. Co-stars include Julianna Margulies, Kevin Pollak, Ewen Bremner and Cho, who appears as a character named Suzie Kang.

"It's a very mysterious character," Cho said. "She's very mean and always messing with people. She locates all these objects and finds them and obsessively tracks them. And she also knows where they're going and what they're doing. But she's really only in it for the money."

The Lost Room could return in the future, possibly with a subsequent miniseries or as a limited series, if the first three-night, six-hour venture is a success. Cho said she'd be open to returning as Kang. "It seems like that would make sense," she said. "She could be in it because she's very instrumental in finding all these objects. But I have no idea. I'm not really sure what they're thinking. If it goes to series, and they want me back, I'd love to. It's a great story." The Lost Room will premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Dec. 11 and will continue on Dec. 12 and 13. —Ian SpellingCho Takes Missed Call

Comedian-turned-actor Margaret Cho told SCI FI Wire that she recently completed work on One Missed Call, an English-language remake of the 2003 Japanese horror film Chakushin Ari. "It's in the vein of The Grudge," Cho said in an interview while promoting her upcoming project, the SCI FI Channel original miniseries The Lost Room. "It's a really quiet, really sort of scary, very thoughtful and intelligent horror film, which is kind of what's happening a lot in horror nowadays."

The original movie, from controversial Japanese horror auteur Takashi Miike, begins with a college student who fails to answer her cell phone because she doesn't recognize the caller ID. When she replays the message later, she realizes the time stamp is three days in the future, with her own voice as she's being killed. In the remake, Cho will play a detective.

"It's really creepy stuff," Cho said. "It was very exciting to work on and really scary. I play a very cynical policewoman who doesn't believe anybody is getting voice mails from ghosts. People hear themselves dying, and they have a couple of days to save themselves, to stop it from happening for real. They're getting voice mails from their ghostly selves. I've seen the original film, and it's terrifying. It's really creepy, and I think they’ve done a great job with this one. In J-horror a lot of things are very mysterious, and this one sort of illuminates the story a little more, but it's still very scary." One Missed Call, which also stars Edward Burns (A Sound of Thunder) and Shannyn Sossamon (The Order), will be released next summer. —Ian SpellingLost Room Helmer Praises Cast

Craig R. Baxley, director of the upcoming SCI FI original miniseries The Lost Room, told SCI FI Wire that he lucked out with his cast, which includes Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Elle Fanning (Babel) and Julianna Margulies (The Mists of Avalon). In the three-part, six-hour miniseries, Krause stars as Joe Miller, a detective who comes to possess a key that unlocks the door to a world of unimaginable power. The key turns out to be the most powerful of more than 100 mysterious objects that came from Room 10 at the Sunshine Motel, objects that people will kill to protect or destroy. Miller will need that key desperately as he searches for his daughter (Fanning), who's disappeared in the Lost Room.

"I think that Peter Krause is probably one of the smartest actors I've had the pleasure of working with," Baxley said in an interview. "He's very collaborative for a director. Nothing is etched in stone. You can really explore a lot of different elements of a character and the arc of the character with Peter, and I found that to be true with Julianna, too. You're aware of her work and what a talented actor she is. Elle is very, very talented and very smart. You'll see what she brings to the table in night one, and it's twofold in night three."

The cast also includes Ewen Bremner, Roger Bart and Dennis Christopher. "Ewen Bremner, who's in night two, is a phenomenal actor," Baxley said. "He was in Trainspotting and Black Hawk Down, among other things. I tried to get him in night one, too, but couldn't. Roger Bart wasn’t in night three originally, and we really lobbied to bring him back, which we did. So we've got a really good wrapup for Roger. The cast in this is really sensational, and I found they were very collaborative and very open to being challenged. It was really a wonderful experience."

Baxley, who also directed the SCI FI original miniseries The Triangle, as well as several Stephen King television adaptations, added that The Lost Room has action, suspense and otherworldly goings-on but is ultimately about Miller and his plight. "Joe is the emotional core, without question," Baxley said. "It's basically The Fugitive. He's lost his daughter, and it's the quest to find her, and he'll do whatever is necessary to do that. And I do mean whatever is necessary. It breaks a few conventions when it comes to television, but I think in the cable world you can do that. I tried to push the envelope stylistically to support that character. All I can do is address nights one and three, which I did. I've seen night two [which was directed by The X-Files veteran Michael Watkins], and I think Watkins did a fantastic job. It's a great, great episode." The Lost Room will premiere Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Ian SpellingLost Producers Explain Death

Lost executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof told TV Guide's Michael Ausiello that this week's death of a major character was planned all along. (Spoilers ahead!) In the Nov. 1 episode, Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) met his demise in the clutches of the mysterious smoke monster.

Cuse told Ausiello that Mr. Eko was never long for this world. "When Adewale came on the show, he didn't want to make a long-term commitment to a series," Cuse said. "We love him, and so we agreed that he would come on the show, and then we would find a time in which his arc would come to an end. And we sort of felt after a lot of conversations with him—most of which took place at the end of the spring last year—that we would finish his character somewhere in [these first] six episodes. And as we started talking about what was going to really help the drama of these six episodes, we thought, 'Well, this is the perfect place to do it.' As we said, we all kind of went into this [with the idea] that it was only going to be for a limited period of time."

As for rumors that Akinnuoye-Agbaje had strained relations with the rest of the cast and crew? "We don't really talk about anything other than the creative decisions made on the show," Lindelof said. "If you're hearing it from other people, you're not hearing that from us. Not to mention, we're in L.A. So we would never let that kind of thing determine the creative direction of the show. We're all in the service of the story." Lost winds up its first six episodes of the season on Nov. 8 before taking a 13-week hiatus. It airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET.Hark Helming Eye 3

Hong Kong-based helmer Tsui Hark will direct Eye 3, third installment of the Chinese-language horror franchise, which has already given rise to two English-language remakes, Variety reported.

The sequel will again to be produced by Peter Chan's Applause Pictures. It tells the story of a woman whose photographer husband is killed in a mysterious diving accident and who is haunted by images of things she has never seen. Shooting begins this winter. Casting details are not finalized.

The first Eye is being remade into an English-language remake through Cruise/Wagner and Lionsgate. The second is in development at New Line/Gold Circle. The first two Chinese films were helmed by brothers Danny and Oxide Pang. Lunar Park Wins Horror Award

Bret Easton Ellis' Lunar Park won the International Horror Guild Award for best novel in ceremonies Nov. 2 in Austin, Texas, the guild announced. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro was presented this year's Living Legend award.

The IHG, originally the International Horror Critics Guild, was created in 1995 as a way to recognize the achievements of those who create in the field of horror and dark fantasy. This year's awards honor works from 2005. A list of other IHG Award winners follows.

Novel: Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis

Short Fiction: "There's a Hole in the City" by Rick Bowes

Mid-Length Fiction: "La Peau Verte" by Caitlin Kiernan

Long Fiction: Kiss of the Mudman by Gary Braunbeck

Collection: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Periodical: Postscripts

Illustrated Narrative: Memories by Enki Bilal

Nonfiction: Supernatural Literature of the World, S.T. Joshi and Stefan Dziemianowicz, eds.

Art: Clive Barker for "Exhibition: Visions of Heaven and Hell (and Then Some)" EA Plans New Rings Game

Electronic Arts unveiled plans for another Lord of the Rings video game, a new SimCity game and a next-generation version of Black, the GameSpot Web site reported. It was unclear whether the games will arrive before the end of EA's 2007 fiscal year or are new to the company's financial plan for the 12-month period, the site reported.

EA also revealed the release window of two of its highest-profile games. Crysis, Crytek's hotly anticipated PC shooter, and Army of Two, the co-op actioner for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, will now both arrive after the end of EA's current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2007.

The revelations came during a conference call to announce the company's earnings.Black Sheep Picked Up

IFC and the Weinstein Co. have teamed to pick up Black Sheep, a horror comedy about good sheep gone bad, for North American distribution, Variety reported.

IFC will handle theatrical release on its First Take label; TWC will release on DVD through its Genius Products homevid arm.

Black Sheep follows two brothers on a New Zealand farm, one of whom has created genetically modified sheep who begin to run amok.

The New-Zealand-shot Sheep was produced by Live Stock Films and Philippa Campbell; the New Zealand Film Commission financed and sold it. Jonathan King helmed from his own script.Bell Gets Buried Alive

Tobin Bell, one of the stars of the supernatural comedy film Buried Alive, told SCI FI Wire that the movie centers on college students who unearth a spirit at a haunted lodge. Bell, who is perhaps best known as the creepy Jigsaw from the Saw movies, is currently shooting the movie, which is directed by Robert Kurtzman (Wishmaster).

"In Buried Alive, I play a guy who is a groundskeeper, a Vietnam-veteran groundskeeper, at a lodge," Bell said in an interview. "And these college students come to this lodge. The lodge is owned by the father of one of the college students. This guy lives in a trailer in the property. He's a Vietnam veteran, kind of an odd fellow, kind of like a housepainter."

Bell said he is particularly excited about working with erstwhile special-effects guru Kurtzman, who not only wrote From Dusk Till Dawn and did animatronic effects for Hulk, but also did makeup for Bride of Reanimator, Bubba Ho-Tep and Phantasm II. "There's a lot of experience in this genre on this set," Bell said.

Buried Alive is co-written by actor T. Jay O'Brien, who appears in the upcoming zombie comedy western Wanted: Undead or Alive, and Art Monterastelli, who helped produce the Total Recall 2070 and Timecop TV shows. The humor in those past projects finds its way into the supernatural thriller.

"Partly, it's a very funny film in a certain way," Bell said. "Buried Alive is a little scary, but also a comedy at the same time."

The cast includes Steve Sandvoss, Terence Jay, Erin Lokitz and Leah Rachel, and Bell's character is very much a loner, like his Jigsaw character. "He's not the sort who's that welcoming to this group of college students who come to this lodge," Bell said. "He's used to being there by himself, taking care of it, and he'd just as soon keep it that way." The movie is scheduled for a Halloween 2007 release. —Mike SzymanskiCastlevania Heads To Film

Universal Pictures genre label Rogue has boarded Paul W.S. Anderson's Dracula project Castlevania, a $50 million video-game adaptation produced and co-financed by Crystal Sky Entertainment, Variety reported.

Rogue will distribute the movie in North America and is also taking rights in the United Kingdom, Spain and German-speaking territories. Crystal Sky is handling sales for the rest of the world.

Anderson's script spans many time periods but mostly takes place in 15th-century Transylvania. It represents a fresh take on the much-filmed Dracula legend, mining back to its genesis in the story of the Romanian prince Vlad the Impaler.

Castlevania is a long-running game franchise by Japan's Konami. It focuses on the duel across the centuries between Dracula and the vampire-hunting Belmont family, played out within Dracula's vast, labyrinthine castle.

Anderson and his producing partner Jeremy Bolt are scouting locations in Hungary and Romania, with a view to shooting next spring. The castle interiors will be constructed in Budapest.

Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.Schwentke Travels To Time

Robert Schwentke is in final negotiations to direct a film version of the best-selling SF novel The Time Traveler's Wife for New Line Cinema, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Audrey Niffenegger book focuses on a couple in which the man has a genetic disorder known as "chrono-impairment," a condition that causes him to involuntarily travel through time. Jeremy Leven wrote the adaptation.

The film, produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Nick Wechsler, has long attracted directors. Steven Spielberg and David Fincher both flirted with it, and Gus Van Sant was in negotiations to direct it early last year. No star is attached at this time.

German-born Schwentke made his English-language feature debut with the 2005 Jodie Foster hit Flightplan.Beka Goes To The Dogs

Best-selling author Tamora Pierce told SCI FI Wire that her latest fantasy novel, Beka Cooper: Terrier, is basically a rookie cop's story, in which the rookie comes across two truly ugly cases.

"Beka is a slum kid who was brought into the household of the realm's top cop, the Lord Provost, eight years ago," Pierce said in an interview. "Now, at 16, she's returning to the slums of her childhood as a Puppy, which is what the Provost's Guards, or Dogs, call their rookies. Her life expectancy in this year is slim: Police work in this medieval-esque setting is hard and nasty, and even veterans don't always survive. Beka's lucky to have two of the best Dogs for her trainers, and she'll need them. Hers is a truly brutal world of tavern brawls, murder-for-hire, rivalry between thieves and murderers and those who profit from their work and those who will kill to keep their secrets. She's facing someone who is kidnapping children and killing them if their parents won't pay up and a man who slaughters the crews who dig treasure for him so they won't give away what they are doing."

Beka Cooper: Terrier takes place in Pierce's magical realm of Tortall, which she has been writing about since 1976. "It's funny to hear it described [as a magical realm], since I never think of Tortall as a 'magic kingdom,'" Pierce said. "Yes, there is the occasional steel-winged, steel-clawed creature swooping out of the air, but locals are as likely to be found currying horses, training with wooden swords, pulling down earthquake-ruined buildings with horses and tackle, shopping in the markets and changing diapers. To me it's a very down-to-earth place, ... once you negotiate the griffins, centaurs, savage winged horses, mages, giant human-headed spiders, ogres and other mythical creatures."

Pierce said that Beka is cool, tough and shy and has a powerful but subtle kind of magic. "[It] allows her to both hear the ghosts carried by the city's pigeons and to hear the snatches of conversations caught by the street corner whirlwinds," Pierce said. "These become her first informants. She [also] has a cat (who will be familiar to my fans) who is a demigod of sorts, one who is invested in grooming young heroes. Pounce [the cat] is a font of good advice and assistance for Beka, whether she wants [it] or not."

Pierce has another story of a girl detective coming out this fall, she said: Marvel Comics will publish a new series written by Pierce and her husband, Timothy Liebe, called White Tiger. "Angela Del Toro ... was a FBI special agent until someone sent her the magical amulets once held by her uncle Hector Ayala," Pierce said. "Now Angela is out of the bureau, but she's still hunting down bad guys as the White Tiger. The first issue comes out Nov. 15. Since Tim and I are also comic-book geeks, we're kinda jacked over this." —John Joseph AdamsUnreal Anthology Ships

Midway Games announced it has shipped Unreal Anthology, a compilation of the publisher's Unreal video-game titles for the PC, including Unreal Tournament and the original Unreal. Since its debut in 1998, the Unreal franchise has sold more than 7 million units worldwide, the company said.

The anthology includes Unreal (including the Return to Na Pali expansion pack), Unreal II: The Awakening, Unreal Tournament (the "Game of the Year" edition) and Unreal Tournament 2004 (the "Editor's Choice" edition, with a mega bonus pack). Unreal Anthology carries a suggested retail price of $29.95.M:I III Suit Can Go Ahead

A Mission: Impossible III crew member who was badly burned in an explosion can proceed with a negligence lawsuit against Tom Cruise's production company, a judge ruled on Oct. 31, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Special-effects technician Steven Scott Wheatley suffered third-degree burns on more than 60 percent of his body in June 2005, when explosives designed to simulate a missile attack went off unexpectedly during filming at the Agua Dulce Movie Ranch, court documents said.

A Superior Court judge said there were sufficient grounds for Wheatley to proceed to trial against Cruise/Wagner Productions; Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures; the owners of the movie ranch; and various people who were on set when he was hurt.

Wheatley has another lawsuit pending against the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He claims the county fire safety adviser and county fire inspector overseeing the production failed to ensure his safety on the set, the trade paper reported. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8.Gerald's Game Ready To Play?

Director Craig R. Baxley, who has helmed various adaptations of Stephen King's books over the years, told SCI FI Wire that he's set his sights on a film version of King's 1992 thriller Gerald's Game, adapted by King himself. Gerald's Game follows a woman, Jessie Burlingame, who ends up handcuffed to a bed in an isolated cabin in Maine and experiences hallucinations after she accidentally causes her husband, Gerald, to suffer a heart attack during a sexual encounter.

Baxley has previously directed King television movies, miniseries and limited series such as Kingdom Hospital, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, Rose Red and Storm of the Century. He said of Gerald's Game: "Obviously, it was written 15 or 16 years ago, and [King has] made it a contemporary piece. What I gravitate to about Stephen is the psychological aspect of the thrillers. I don't gravitate to when the cats explode and the blood flies and everything else. I think that's what intrigues [Frank] Darabont, too. I just read that he's going to do The Mist for Stephen, an updated version. But Stephen is such a wonderful writer when it comes to character. I'm very fond of him, obviously, and we have a very good working relationship. We'll see what happens."

As for King's adaptation, Baxley said: "He's done a feature adaptation of it, and he's got Nicole Kidman, who was interested last year. It's a new convention for Gerald's Game, put it that way."

Baxley's new project is the upcoming SCI FI Channel original miniseries The Lost Room, which will premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Dec. 11 and will continue on Dec. 12 and 13. The six-hour miniseries stars Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Julianna Margulies (The Sopranos) and Elle Fanning (Charlotte's Web). —Ian SpellingPerlman, Hu Voice Afro Samurai

Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Kelly Hu (X2) are joining Samuel L. Jackson as part of the voice cast for Spike TV's Afro Samurai, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The five-part animated series, which premieres Jan. 4, 2007, is based on a graphic novel by Takashi Okazaki and centers on a black samurai's (Jackson) hunt for the gunman who murdered his father.

Perlman will voice the gunman, while Hu will voice a friend from the samurai's past. Afro Samurai is produced by the Japanese studio Gonzo, in association/partnership with GHK K.K. and FUNimation.Kubrick Auditioner Resurfaces?

Brian Atene, a self-described graduate of the Juilliard School and avowed Star Trek fan, has apparently resurfaced more than 20 years after he sent in an audition tape to 2001: A Space Odyssey director Stanley Kubrick in response to an open casting call for Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket—an over-the-top audition tape that found its way onto YouTube.com and became an Internet sensation. The story, as reported on Defamer, is that Atene's hilariously histrionic 1984 audition video showed up on the popular video Web site, prompting what appears to be the now-middle-aged would-be actor to resurface in a new but familiar video, which has also made its way onto YouTube.com. (It's unclear whether the new video is the real Atene, though he purports to be.)

The supposed older Atene, apparently oblivious to his own pompousness, addresses the late director directly and offers his own interpretation of a scene from Full Metal Jacket, in which Atene was not cast. "The current Brian looks somewhat older, girthier and has the face of a completely different person with a great idea for his fanciful video response, but he nonetheless exhibits a masterly control over his unique acting instrument," Defamer wrote, with tongue in cheek.Universal Options Everlost

Universal Pictures has optioned Everlost, a Neal Shusterman fantasy novel that will be developed as a potential directing vehicle for Gary Ross through his Larger Than Life banner, Variety reported. Shusterman will write the script.

Published by Simon & Schuster, Everlost focuses on Nick and Allie, teenage passengers in cars that collide. They meet in a netherworld known as Everlost, unsure if they're alive. The teens try to navigate an odd world that is populated by young people from different historical periods, with a couple of bad guys in the mix. The book is the first of a series, and the hope is to hatch a franchise.

Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.Rogue Develops Cameron 3-D Film

James Cameron will produce an as-yet-untitled 3-D adventure thriller movie for Rogue Pictures, Rogue co-presidents Andrew Karpen and Andrew Rona announced on Oct. 30.

The story takes place in the world of cave diving and will center on a father and son who become trapped and struggle to survive deep below the Earth's surface.

Rogue has worldwide distribution rights to the feature and will make the movie with Cameron's Earthship Productions, the production company that the filmmaker founded to advance his extensive underwater expeditions and documentary work of the past decade.

Emmy-Award nominee Gary Johnstone (Expedition: Bismarck) will direct, from a script by John Garvin. Andrew Wight, producer and expedition leader on all Earthship productions to date, will produce the film with Cameron.

Rogue and Cameron will search for a cast of actors who will be filmed in real caves in Mexico and Papua New Guinea.

The film will be shot with the 3-D Fusion camera system, developed by Cameron and Vince Pace.

Rogue, a unit of Focus Features, is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.Garris Developing Hell

Mick Garris, executive producer of Showtime's Masters of Horror, told SCI FI Wire that he is looking to adapt his recently published first novel, Development Hell, into a screenplay for either TV or film. "Seeing what we were able to do with Masters of Horror, it would be great to do it with an HBO or Showtime as a series of nine one-hour chapters," Garris said in an interview. "Or as a feature film. But it's ironic that I'm thinking of it that way, because the whole reason I wrote it in the first place was to not be chained to all of that stuff that you have to think about."

Garris describes Development Hell as "an extreme erotic horror novel, disguised as a Hollywood satire." The story centers on a filmmaker who encounters an underground world of the occult in Hollywood. Though the book is a work of fiction, Garris (director of TV's The Stand and The Shining) said he used his own experiences in the industry as inspiration. "There are real names that you'll find familiar in the novel, as well as situations that either I or people I know experienced certain forms of," he said. "But hopefully, it's a little more extreme than the reality."

Meanwhile, Garris has just wrapped up the second season of Masters of Horror, which premiered on Showtime Oct. 27, and is looking forward to a third if the show continues to be successful. "I'm hopeful that season three will happen, which will kind of make it hard to concentrate on other things," he said. "But I'm just now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of season two. ... And so, yeah, I'm starting to take meetings and starting to talk to people about various projects." Masters of Horror airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. —Cindy WhiteFerguson Moves Into House

Colin Ferguson, star of SCI FI Channel's original series Eureka, told SCI FI Wire that he will be appearing in an upcoming haunted-house television movie, The House Next Door, which he said is both timely and creepy. Based on the book by Anne Rivers Siddons, The House Next Door follows a couple (Ferguson and Lara Flynn Boyle) whose suburban lifestyle is turned upside down when an architect (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) builds a new house right next to theirs, a house that brings out the worst in all who enter it ... and all who live nearby.

"I think it's sort of appropriate after the real-estate boom, you know what I mean?" Ferguson said with a laugh during an interview. "There isn't a small town, I don't think anywhere, that hasn't had the godawful house go up or the horrible development down the road, and so having a little gaudy house go up next door is pretty familiar. And I think the metaphor of that is how that can alter a neighborhood and what it does to the people. We take it, obviously, further, because the house is haunted and starts really destroying the neighborhood."

Ferguson added: "So that's what the movie is. I'm the voice of reason. I'm the voice of reason, and I think Lara is the voice of instinct ... and intuition, and she ends up being right. It takes me a while to even be convinced, because things happen, and she has a sense of it, and I'm saying, 'Honey, come on. Really? It's a house. Really? Is that what we're saying?' Ultimately, when she gets enough evidence and proves it to me, then I'm on her side, and we decide we have to destroy it." Lifetime will air The House Next Door on Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Ian SpellingToon Siege Aims At Adults

Lorne Lanning and Sherry McKenna, developers of the cult hit Oddworld video-game franchise, are teaming with Vanguard Animation for the computer-animated Citizen Siege, a dark political thriller set in the near future and aimed at adults, Variety reported. Lanning will direct, and Shrek producer John Williams, head of Vanguard, will produce.

Vanguard plans to do much of the work on the movie in its Vancouver studio, where it is currently producing Space Chimps, which will be distributed by Fox next year.

Vanguard plans to raise the budget, estimated at about $40 million, with outside investments, including foreign pre-sales at AFM this week. Fear Makes Jericho Compelling

Jon Turteltaub, executive producer of CBS' hit SF series Jericho, admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that real-life tensions about North Korea's nuclear test and fears of a possible nuclear attack help make the show more compelling. "If people had no fear of nuclear bombs, then this show would kind of suck," he told the trade paper. "But if America was in a panic over nuclear bombs, we probably couldn't make the show."

Turteltaub's intention isn't to prey on that fear in the name of easy scares. Instead, he aims to create intriguing stories that result from an examination of the way that the different characters—survivors left isolated in a small Kansas town—react in a crisis situation.

"I think what we have all really focused on is less the nuclear message and more of the sociology of how to behave when everything goes wrong," Turteltaub said. "Most of us are pretty wonderful during the good times, but our true character comes out when we're confronted with tragedy and disasters. True leadership appears, and really hard choices have to be made."

Jericho recently received a full-season order. Jonathan A. Steinberg, Josh Schaer and Stephen Chbosky are credited as creators.

"I like ideas where when I hear the initial part of an idea, it brings up thousands of other thoughts," Turteltaub said. "This spawned a rash of other ideas—everything from the fact that all of life would be changed by this event, through where life doesn't really change at all if you live in small town and are already removed from the nonsense of a big city." Jericho airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. PT/ET.BRIEFLY NOTED

New trailers for the upcoming fantasy film Evan Almighty and Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie have been linked through SCI FI Wire's Trailers page.

ComingSoon.net's Superhero Hype! reported that Sony Pictures will debut the new Spider-Man 3 trailer on MTV on Nov. 9, during MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel, which airs at 10 p.m. ET; the trailer will then play in theaters with the studio's Casino Royale, starting Nov. 17.

Ewan McGregor has signed on to star in Franklyn, a futuristic British movie by first-time writer-director Gerald McMorrow, Variety reported.

Disney has set a May 16, 2008, release date for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and a June 27, 2008, date for the upcoming Pixar animated film Wall-E.

Tom Cruise, who was cut loose by Paramount Pictures in August, and his producing partner, Paula Wagner, have been put in charge of the United Artists film studio, the Associated Press reported; Wagner will serve as chief executive of the company, which is owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., and Cruise will appear in UA films, but will also be allowed to star in films from rival studios.

Cinescape.com has re-launched with a whole new look and name: Mania.com.

Colin Firth will star in director Michael Winterbottom's contemporary ghost story Genova, playing a recently widowed man who travels to Italy with his teenage daughters in search of a fresh start, Variety reported; it's set to shoot next spring.

DreamWorks Animation reported that Shrek 4 will hit theaters in 2010 and that a Puss in Boots spinoff movie, previously expected to go straight to DVD, will instead be a theatrical release sometime after Shrek 4.

Just Like Heaven star Reese Witherspoon has separated from her husband, Ryan Phillippe, after more than seven years of marriage, the TMZ.com Web site reported.

Mission: Impossible III has been released on DVD in two versions: a single-disc regular version and a two-disc special collectors' edition with special features including commentaries by star Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams, deleted scenes and more than two hours of behind-the-scenes footage, Paramount announced.

Film Ick reported a rumor that Bruce Campbell will make a cameo appearance in Spider-Man 3 as the villainous Quentin Beck (aka Mysterio), who appears briefly as the special-effects supervisor on a film-within-a-film about the webslinger.

Charmed star Holly Marie Combs and her husband, David Donoho, welcomed their second son, Riley Edward Donoho, into the world on Oct. 26 in Los Angeles, People magazine reported.